Factors Affecting Trade Patterns of - United States International ...

95 percent of Tanzania’s coffee is produced by small landholders on plots
averaging 1−2 hectares, with the remainder by larger, privately owned estates. 30
About two-thirds of Tanzania’s coffee production is Arabica, with the remainder
Robusta. 31
Rwanda
Coffee re-emerged as Rwanda’s top export earner following the rebound in world
coffee prices and a recovery in production. Production was negatively affected by
the country’s civil unrest in the mid-1990s and by low global prices. Coffee
production reached its highest level of the post-genocide period in 2006, but
remains only half of the former average production volume. 32 The strong demand
for Rwanda’s best Arabica coffee, mainly by U.S. specialty coffee buyers and
roasters, has improved the outlook for the country’s coffee sector.
Sub-Saharan Africa Trade in the Global Context
Global exports of coffee totaled $12.0 billion in 2006. This value represents a
103 percent increase from $5.9 billion in 2002. 33 SSA coffee exports were
$1.1 billion in 2006, accounting for 9 percent of the world total and down from
10 percent of the world total in 2002.
Leading Exporters
The largest exporter of coffee to the world is Brazil, followed by Colombia and
Vietnam (figure 2.1). 34 Brazil accounted for almost one-quarter of the value of
global coffee exports in 2006, and the United States, the European Union, and
Japan were the leading destinations for most coffee exporters.
Reflecting the continued rebound in world coffee prices since 2002, the value of
SSA coffee exports increased 82 percent from 2002 to 2006. Ethiopia represented
almost one-third of the SSA coffee exports by value in 2006, followed by Kenya,
Uganda, and Côte d’Ivoire. The primary export destinations for SSA coffee in
2006 were the European Union, Japan, the United States, and Algeria.
30
Baffes, “Tanzania’s Coffee Sector,” June 2003, 1.
31
Ibid.
32
EIU, Country Profile 2007: Rwanda, 2007, 27.
33
GTIS, Global Trade Atlas.
34 Ibid.
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